51 Free Open-Source Alternatives to Software You Pay For

One GitHub repository now holds 51 free, open-source apps that stand in for software most businesses pay for every month: a spreadsheet for Excel users, a video meeting app in place of Zoom, team chat in place of Slack, bookkeeping in place of QuickBooks, even a CAD tool for AutoCAD work. Most of them open in a browser tab with nothing to install.

The repository is called Everything, and it comes from the team behind Puter, an open-source cloud desktop. It went up on 13 October 2026 under the MIT licence and is changing almost daily. This guide shows you which apps work today, how to pick the right one for a bill you want to cut, and the three ways to use them: in your browser, on your own computer, or on a server you run yourself.

What the Everything repo is

Everything is a single repository with one folder per app. The project says it is rebuilding and open-sourcing the world's software from scratch, and its README names the paid product each app stands in for.

The apps have no servers of their own. Each one is built on Puter.js, the developer kit from Puter that handles sign-in, cloud storage and real-time connections. Puter itself is an open-source "internet computer", a desktop that runs in your browser, available at puter.com or on your own server. Its main repository has more than 43,000 stars and uses the AGPL-3.0 licence. Everything uses the more relaxed MIT licence, so you can use, change and even sell the code, including at work.

The project moves fast. On 27 October 2026 it had 240 commits and close to 4,300 stars. Nariman Jelveh, whose GitHub profile lists him at Puter, made 234 of those commits, and Claude, Anthropic's AI model, is credited as a co-author on 102 of them.

Three ways to use the apps

Before you start

• A modern browser on a laptop or desktop. Some apps, such as Documents, have phone layouts, but you will judge them better on a big screen.
• A Puter account if you want to save anything. You can create one free at puter.com. Puter's free plan includes 25 MB of storage; Basic is $10 a month for 100 GB, Plus $25 for 500 GB and Pro $100 for 2 TB.
• Your list of subscriptions, with the price per seat. This is what turns a fun browse into a real saving.
• For running code yourself: Git and Node.js 22.12 or newer.
• For self-hosting: Docker with the compose plugin, and a domain where you can add DNS records.

How to pick the right app

The fastest way to find out whether any of this saves you money is to start from your own bills, not from the app list.

1. List what you pay for. Write down each monthly subscription and its price per seat. Your card statement is the quickest place to find them.
2. Match each one to its alternative. Use the table below. The "alternative to" names come from the project's own README.
3. Check the status. Skip anything with no link yet. Apps that are linked but still marked "Demo URL not yet provided" in the README may be half built.
4. Pick one. Choose the most expensive tool that has a live app, and run one real but low-risk job through it for a week.
5. Write down what was missing. If nothing important was, cancel one seat, not the whole plan. Keep the paid tool as a fallback for a month.

All 51 apps and their status today

Status is from the README on 27 October 2026. "Live" means the app has a Try it link with no warning. "Linked, marked unfinished" means the link points to an app page but the README still notes "Demo URL not yet provided". "No link" means you can only get the source code for now.

That adds up to 23 live, 22 linked but marked unfinished, and 6 with no link. When we opened every link on 27 October 2026, all but one loaded a page; Field Service returned a "not found" error. Expect this table to go stale quickly, so check the README before you rely on it.

All product names above belong to their owners. Everything is an independent project, and we use those names only to show what each app stands in for.

Option 1: try an app in your browser

This is the right start for almost everyone. It takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Copyhttps://github.com/HeyPuter/everything

Scroll to the app you want and tap "Try it". It opens in your browser, nothing to install. "Source" is the code, if you want to run it yourself.

Prefer a one-click copy? The same link and steps are on our free prompt page.

1. Open the repo. Go to github.com/HeyPuter/everything. You do not need a GitHub account to read it.
2. Jump to a group. The links under the title take you to Office, Collaboration, Creative Tools, Engineering, Productivity, Finance, Business, Developer Tools or Games.
3. Click Try it. The app opens at its own puter.com address, such as spreadsheet.puter.com. If the link only jumps down the page, that app has no live version yet.
4. Work in it. Spreadsheet, for example, opens straight into a new sheet with no sign-in. Until you save, your edits stay in that browser tab, and the status pill reads "Sign in to save".
5. Sign in when you save. The first time you save, open a file or list your files, Puter asks you to sign in or create an account. Your files then live in your Puter account.

If a page loads blank or an app errors, try another browser, then check whether the README still marks that app as unfinished. Many of them are.

The apps worth trying first

For a small business, these are the ones whose READMEs describe the most complete feature sets today.

Spreadsheet

It saves real .xlsx files, so they open in Excel, Numbers or LibreOffice later. The README lists over 510 formula functions with live recalculation, including XLOOKUP, SUMIFS and financial functions such as NPV and IRR, plus an AI() function that writes an answer from Puter's AI into a cell. Test it with a budget sheet you already keep in Excel.

Invoicing and Accounting

Invoicing handles quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, payment reminders, receipts and refunds, with reports on what is outstanding by age. Accounting is full double-entry bookkeeping: bills, bank statement import from CSV or OFX, bank rules, reconciliation, sales tax and reports such as Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet. Both are still marked unfinished in the main README, so run a copy of last month's books through them rather than this month's.

Meetings and Teamchat

Meetings works like Google Meet: start an instant meeting or create a link that does not expire and put it in a calendar invite. Guests without a Puter account wait in a lobby and join once the meeting starts, and if the host leaves, the call carries on with a new host. It has background blur, noise suppression and screen sharing. Teamchat gives you workspaces, public and private channels, threads, direct messages and invites by link or email. Try both on an internal call or a small project channel.

Documents and Records

Documents is a browser word processor that stores .docx files, with comments, Track Changes, a table of contents and Save as PDF. Its own README calls it a restricted editor prototype, and says Word files using comments, tracked changes, multiple sections or nested tables are rejected before editing. Start new documents in it rather than opening old ones. Records, the Airtable alternative, is labelled alpha, with a warning that data could be lost, so use its "Download a backup" option.

Option 2: run an app on your own computer

This is for someone comfortable with a terminal who wants to read the code or change it.

1. Install the tools. Install Git and Node.js 22.12 or newer. Check your version by typing node -v in a terminal.
2. Get the code. Copy the repository to your computer:

   Copygit clone https://github.com/HeyPuter/everything.git
   cd everything/src/spreadsheet
   npm install
   npm run dev

   Swap spreadsheet for the folder of the app you want. Each app's Source link shows its folder name, such as documents, meetings or invoicing.
3. Open it. npm run dev starts a local development server and prints a local web address in the terminal. Open that address in your browser.
4. Know where data goes. The apps still load Puter.js from Puter's servers, so signing in and saving still use your Puter account. Running the code yourself does not by itself keep your data off Puter's cloud.

If npm install fails, the usual cause is an older Node.js version, so check it first. Documents has one handy extra: its /playground.html page is a standalone local editor that needs no account and no cloud connection.

Option 3: self-host Puter for full control

If the reason you are looking at open source is to keep your data on your own machines, the step that matters is running Puter itself on your own server. This is a job for someone technical, and it needs Docker with the compose plugin and a domain where you can add a wildcard DNS record.

1. Run the installer. Puter's README gives one command for Linux or macOS and one for Windows PowerShell:

   Copycurl -fsSL https://puter.com/selfhost | sh
   
   irm https://puter.com/selfhost?os=windows | iex

   The script checks for Docker, curl and openssl, creates a puter-selfhosted folder, downloads the config, generates fresh secrets, starts the Docker containers (Puter, a MariaDB database, a cache, a key-value store, S3-style file storage and a Caddy web proxy) and prints the first admin password. Read any script before you pipe it into your shell; this one is short and commented.
2. Wait for first boot. Puter's self-hosting guide says the first boot takes about 30 seconds while the database sets up. Watch progress with docker compose logs -f puter.
3. Sign in as admin. Open your Puter address (puter.localhost for a local trial). The username is admin. If you missed the password, it is printed in the logs on every boot until you change it: docker compose logs puter | grep "password for admin". Change it in Settings straight away.
4. Point your domain at it. For use beyond one machine, add DNS records for your domain and its wildcard subdomains, and set up TLS before anyone types a real password.
5. Set limits. Storage is unlimited by default, bounded only by your disk. The guide shows how to cap storage per user and turn off new signups.

Two cautions. Self-hosted Puter is a full platform you now have to update and back up; the guide's update steps are docker compose pull then docker compose up -d. And the Everything repo does not document how to point its apps at your own Puter server, so confirm that part works before you move real data.

Where your files go

In the hosted versions, your work lives in your Puter account, the same storage that powers puter.com. The Accounting and Invoicing READMEs both stress that there is no server or database of their own; everything sits in the user's Puter account.

That is convenient, and it also means Puter's servers hold your files. A review by PBX Science makes the same point: running an app locally does not keep your data off Puter's cloud, and full control needs Puter itself. For client data, contracts or anything regulated, keep using the tools your business has already vetted until you have checked this setup properly.

What it costs

Puter's homepage says every paid plan includes every app it lists, and higher plans add more storage, AI and support. 25 MB holds plenty of spreadsheets and documents, but not video or a photo library, so creative work will push you to a paid plan or a self-hosted server.

Limits, and who it is not for

• It is very new. The repository went up on 13 October 2026, and almost half the apps are either unlinked or still marked unfinished, including most of the finance and business apps.
• Some apps warn you themselves. Records is labelled alpha with a data-loss warning, and Documents calls itself a restricted prototype that rejects some Word files.
• Depth trails the paid tools. PBX Science expects many apps to lag established products for a while, and says the project suits people who want to avoid vendor lock-in and are happy to experiment.
• Licences are clean but layered. The repo is MIT, while third-party libraries inside it keep their own licences. Documents, for one, runs a licence check that blocks AGPL code.
• Support is thin. Bugs go to GitHub issues, and Puter's Free and Basic plans list community support only.

It is a good fit for founders and small teams who want to cut a subscription or two and are fine testing first. It is not a good fit for a team that needs a supported, ready-made suite on Monday morning, or for regulated data you cannot move without a review.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Everything repo on GitHub?

Everything (github.com/HeyPuter/everything) is a free, MIT-licensed repository from the team behind Puter. It holds 51 open-source apps that stand in for paid software such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Slack, Photoshop, AutoCAD and QuickBooks. It went up on 13 October 2026.

Are the Everything apps really free?

The code is free under the MIT licence, so you can use, change and share it, including at work. Saving files in the hosted apps uses a Puter account. Puter's free plan includes 25 MB of storage, and paid plans start at $10 a month for 100 GB.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Click Try it next to an app in the README and it opens in your browser. To run an app on your own computer instead, you need Git and Node.js 22.12 or newer, then four commands from the README.

Where are my files saved?

In your Puter account. The apps load Puter.js from Puter's servers, so running an app's code locally does not by itself keep your data off Puter's cloud. To control where your data lives, you would run Puter itself on your own server.

Can I self-host the Everything apps?

You can self-host Puter with its one-line installer, which needs Docker and, for use beyond one machine, a domain with wildcard DNS. The Everything repo does not yet document how to point its apps at your own Puter server, so test that before moving real data.

Can the Everything apps replace Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace?

Not yet for most businesses. The project is two weeks old, almost half the apps are unlinked or still marked unfinished in the README, and some, like Records, warn that data could be lost. Test one app on low-stakes work first.

Sources

• Everything on GitHub (README, app READMEs, commit history)
• Puter on GitHub
• Puter: Self-hosting guide
• Puter.com plans
• PBX Science: HeyPuter is rebuilding the world's software as MIT-licensed open source